CEBU CITY, (PNA) — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has said he was miffed that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be holding barangay elections without a budget.
This was Rama’s reaction to the Comelec’s memorandum to collect P10,000 from each barangay for the elections, which are just three weeks away.
“They shouldn’t think of conducting an election when they don’t have money,” said Rama.
Rama said that as chief executive, his main concern is the provision of services for senior citizens and the barangays.
But he does not see anything wrong with the barangays using the city’s financial assistance, in compliance with the Comelec memorandum.
The official campaign period will be from October 18 to 26.
But Rama said he will include P16 million in the proposed second supplemental budget as the barangays’ share for the conduct of the October 28 barangay elections.
Earlier, Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Michael Ralota raised the possibility of using the barangays’ P6.6-million financial assistance from the city as their share to defray the costs of the election.
Under Section 51 of the Omnibus Election Code, failure to give the contribution shall constitute an election offense and shall be penalized.